sprinkle

sprinkle — verb

1. to let tiny amounts of a solid substance or drops of liquid fall onto a surface

1.verbtransitiveA2
Definition

to let tiny amounts of a solid substance or drops of liquid fall onto a surface from above, often as a light finishing layer on food or another object

Example

Kwame sprinkled grated cheese over the pasta before putting the dish in the oven.

sprinkle + noun + over + noun (surface)

The baker sprinkled a thin layer of flour onto the board before rolling out the dough.

Common collocations
  • sprinkle with sugar
  • sprinkle over the top
  • sprinkle on food
  • sprinkle lightly
  • sprinkle generously
  • sprinkle evenly
  • sprinkle water on
  • sprinkle salt over
  • sprinkle herbs on
Synonyms
  • scatter

    scatter is more general and suggests a wider, less controlled spreading; sprinkle implies a lighter, more deliberate action

  • dust

    dust means to cover very lightly with a fine powder, while sprinkle can use larger pieces or drops

  • drizzle

    drizzle refers specifically to liquid in a thin, steady stream, whereas sprinkle uses small separate drops or solid pieces

  • strew

    strew is less common and usually suggests irregular scattering over a wide area, often in a messy way

Grammar Patterns

sprinkle + noun (scattered item) + over/on/onto + noun (surface)

sprinkle + noun (surface) + with + noun (scattered item)

Usage Note

This sense follows two main patterns. When the scattered item is the direct object, use 'over', 'on', or 'onto' before the surface: 'sprinkle sugar over the cake'. When the surface is the direct object, use 'with' before the scattered item: 'sprinkle the cake with sugar'. The object can also be omitted when the context is clear: 'sprinkle with cheese.'

Common Mistakes

I sprinkled the cake over sugar.
I sprinkled sugar over the cake.
The scattered item goes directly after the verb; the surface follows the preposition.
She sprinkled water the plants.
She sprinkled water on the plants.
A preposition (over/on/onto) is needed between the scattered item and the surface.

2. to rain very lightly, with only a few separated drops falling at a time, produci

2.verbintransitiveA2
Definition

to rain very lightly, with only a few separated drops falling at a time, producing a very gentle, short-lived shower

Example

It started to sprinkle just as we reached the park gate, so we turned back.

it + sprinkle — weather use only

Élise checked the forecast before her garden party — it would only sprinkle, not pour, so she kept the buffet outdoors.

Common collocations
  • it sprinkles
  • it was sprinkling
  • start to sprinkle
  • only sprinkle
  • sprinkle with rain (passive)
Synonyms
  • drizzle

    drizzle involves finer, steadier droplets falling continuously; sprinkle suggests more scattered, intermittent drops

  • spit

    spit is informal British English and implies very occasional, isolated drops, lighter than sprinkle

Antonyms
  • pour

    pour describes heavy, continuous rainfall, opposite in both intensity and drop size

Grammar Patterns

it + sprinkles

it + is + sprinkling

Usage Note

This sense is restricted to third-person singular with 'it' as the subject. 'It sprinkles' describes light rainfall — lighter than drizzling and much lighter than pouring. Americans use this more often than British speakers, who may prefer 'spit' or 'spot with rain'. This sense cannot take a human subject (❌ 'I sprinkled rain').

Common Mistakes

It sprinkled outside with big drops.
It sprinkled outside with tiny drops.
Sprinkling rain consists of small, separated drops, not large ones.
I sprinkled some rain.
It was sprinkling this morning.
You cannot use a person as the subject of this weather sense.

sprinkle — noun

Word family

  • sprinkler
    nounB1
  • sprinkling
    nounB2
  • sprinkled
    adjectiveA2
  • unsprinkled
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five verbs describe distributing something over a surface, but they differ in the substance, control, and effect. SPRINKLE implies a light, deliberate action using small pieces or drops — you sprinkle salt on food or water on plants. SCATTER is broader: seeds, papers, or people can be scattered widely and less precisely. DUST means covering very lightly with a fine powder, like dusting a cake with icing sugar — the layer is thin and even. DRIZZLE is specific to liquids in a thin stream, as when you drizzle olive oil over a salad. STREW (less common) suggests irregular, often messy spreading over a large area — leaves strewn across the lawn. In short, sprinkle sits between control and delicacy: more careful than scatter, messier than dust, and involving smaller pieces than drizzle.

sprinkle ↗scatter ↗dust ↗drizzlestrew

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • sprinkle over the top
  • sprinkle on the surface
  • sprinkle with cheese
  • a sprinkle of

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'sprinkle' comes from Middle English 'sprengelen', meaning to scatter like seeds, which itself evolved from Old English 'sprengan' (to cause to spring, to scatter). Related forms appear in Middle Dutch 'sprengelen' and German 'sprengen' — all tracing back to the Proto-Germanic root *springaną, meaning 'to spring, to burst forth'. The core image is of small particles springing outward, which matches the modern sense of scattering tiny pieces or drops over a surface.